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Exiled Bull shows off his local knowledge and dislike of all things Claret and Blue
My first ever United away game was at Villa Park. That same fixture in August 1972 was also The Bulls first ever League Cup match. I only retain a few memories from that 4-1 defeat. The grimness of the area, the huge terraces at either end, the vertigo-inducing height of my seat in their old wooden stand, the gleaming bald head of Andy Lochhead (Villa striker) and the huge 30,000 crowd. The B6 mob played in the Third Division but were still an irritatingly cocky bunch.
Almost four decades later, much has changed. The area is still horribly grim. Witton (where Villa are based) and neighbouring Aston are classic inner-city areas. Think Tottenham. But I must say, although the nearby streets can appear intimidating, I’ve never seen any violence directed towards people or vehicles during the 50 odd times I’ve been there over the decades.
A residents-only parking scheme was introduced just a few years ago. This completely torpedoed all free side-street parking so if you see a car park, go for it. There are no sensible alternatives for newbies. Parking is not cheap – spoiled you lot are at Edgar Street! No-one should need directions to get to Villa Park. It is highly visible from the M6 motorway, squatting like a particularly ugly toad – oblivious of the one and two finger gestures made in its direction by non-Seals.
I should explain. Villa have been known as the Seals across the conurbation for around two decades. This stems back to the days of the wooden-floored Trinity Road Stand when its inhabitants would shriek “Villa” in falsetto tones, while simultaneously clapping with their arms at full length in front of them, and stamping the wooden floor. It’s actually quite hard to do. That fine old stand was destroyed in a shocking example of architectural vandalism. Its replacement has concrete floors so “doing the Seal” is no longer possible though we might still get the piercing falsetto shriek. However, use of the nickname usually rankles with them so all the more reason to use it.
Obviously, the huge stadium has long been all-seater. The North Stand Upper is probably the oldest part of the ground now and is not usually offered to travelling fans. The view however is excellent (think Hillsborough without the pillars) and segregation will be straightforward there. Villa normally charge away supporters of Premier League clubs £40 or more, which is why I haven’t been for several seasons. Let’s be realistic, £10 is not some wonderful, unique offer for Hereford. This is a standard price charged by all the local big clubs (and Wolverhampton) in the League Cup early rounds against small clubs. It’s simply a pragmatic way of attracting a reasonable (if silent) crowd, albeit one light on regular attendees. Actually, I’m a little surprised that pensioners are not to be charged the concessionary rate.
Yep, I’m biased. ‘Claret and blue makes me spew’, as per the T shirt legend. Still, a few years of having nothing to get excited about has poked a hole in the notorious Villa arrogance and they have concerns that “Eck” is the wrong manager for them. Where Villa have scored highly in the last decade is in the quality of players developed by their Academy. There will certainly be a number of them turning out against the Bulls and they will be impressive.
However, Hereford United cannot lose this game and the Seals cannot win it so we are guaranteed an interesting evening. So be there. The Bulls needs you to show the Premier League what a real football club looks and sounds like.